The size of the opening in the lens also known as f/stop. (a smaller aperture has a bigger f/stop number--lets in less light) The numbers represent ratios of the lens focal length to opening. The lens focal length is how long the lense is in millimeters. So f/2 is a wider open aperature than f/16 because the numbers are fractions.
Depth of field:
Depth of field is the range of distance within the subject that is sharp and clear. The depth of field varies depending on camera type, aperture, and focusing distance. Shutter Speed:
Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open; it is measured in seconds. Settings can be 1/500, 1/250, or 1/125 and also 1, 10, and 30 seconds. As the shutter speed gets faster (1/500 second), there is less light let in. To compensate, the aperture may need to be increased.
Noise: Noise is similar to film grain. It looks like ugly speckles or colored dots and is a result of a variety of sources, including pixel errors, the temperature of the picture, and the sensors in the digital camera. It is impossible to completely eliminate noise, but when the exposure is shortened or the pixel size is reduced the noise is at a more normal level. Particularly at high ISO settings there is more noise; film scanners commonly add more noise to digital photographs, especially where there is dark blue or black color.
Histogram:
Histograms graph the tones in each image. A histogram with dark tones -whether from dark clothes or objects or an underexposed shot- would have less peaks than the example below. In most cases, you want a fairly balanced shot with a range of tones (like the picture below). Most well exposed photographs would peak in the center and taper off toward the edges. http://digital-photography-school.com/understanding-histograms Burst Mode:
Burst mode, or continuous shooting mode, shoots pictures in succession when the shutter button is held down. This is good for taking pictures of fast moving objects when you cannot judge the correct timing. When shooting a rapidly moving object, you usually have to pre-focus. http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/shooting-modes/burst-mode/ White Balance:
White balance is th e process of removing unrealistic color casts. It makes the objects which are white in person to actually look white in the photograph. This takes into account the “color temperature” of the light source (whether it is light or cool). http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balaance.htm Self timer: Using a self timer gives the photographer a delay after pushing the shutter release. This is helpful when taking self portraits.
Pixels: Pixels are small squares that hold information in it. If a picture has more pixels the better the quality it is. Auto Focus vs Manual Focus: Auto focus is when the camera will focus the lens on something for you and you would use auto focus when you are taking a picture of something that is simple and stationary. Manual focus is when you focus the lens by hand. You would want to use manual focus when your picture you want to take is complex and moving.
ISO (international standardization organization): It is an indication of how sensitive a film was to light. With a lower number on the film the lower the the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the shots taken. http://digital-photography-school.com/iso-settings File Format: .tiff – Is the highest quality for file format. This format works well for printing because of no loss of quality of the file.
.jpeg – Is the most common type and is viewed by all. It works for the web. .raw – It contains minimally processed data and is good to be used for files that have yet to be processed.
Aperture:
The size of the opening in the lens also known as f/stop. (a smaller aperture has a bigger f/stop number--lets in less light) The numbers represent ratios of the lens focal length to opening. The lens focal length is how long the lense is in millimeters. So f/2 is a wider open aperature than f/16 because the numbers are fractions.
Depth of field:
Depth of field is the range of distance within the subject that is sharp and clear. The depth of field varies depending on camera type, aperture, and focusing distance.
Shutter Speed:
Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open; it is measured in seconds. Settings can be 1/500, 1/250, or 1/125 and also 1, 10, and 30 seconds. As the shutter speed gets faster (1/500 second), there is less light let in. To compensate, the aperture may need to be increased.
Noise:
Noise is similar to film grain. It looks like ugly speckles or colored dots and is a result of a variety of sources, including pixel errors, the temperature of the picture, and the sensors in the digital camera. It is impossible to completely eliminate noise, but when the exposure is shortened or the pixel size is reduced the noise is at a more normal level. Particularly at high ISO settings there is more noise; film scanners commonly add more noise to digital photographs, especially where there is dark blue or black color.
Histogram:
Histograms graph the tones in each image. A histogram with dark tones -whether from dark clothes or objects or an underexposed shot- would have less peaks than the example below. In most cases, you want a fairly balanced shot with a range of tones (like the picture below). Most well exposed photographs would peak in the center and taper off toward the edges.
http://digital-photography-school.com/understanding-histograms
Burst Mode:
Burst mode, or continuous shooting mode, shoots pictures in succession when the shutter button is held down. This is good for taking pictures of fast moving objects when you cannot judge the correct timing. When shooting a rapidly moving object, you usually have to pre-focus.
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/shooting-modes/burst-mode/
White Balance:
White balance is th e process of removing unrealistic color casts. It makes the objects which are white in person to actually look white in the photograph. This takes into account the “color temperature” of the light source (whether it is light or cool).
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balaance.htm
Self timer: Using a self timer gives the photographer a delay after pushing the shutter release. This is helpful when taking self portraits.
Pixels: Pixels are small squares that hold information in it. If a picture has more pixels the better the quality it is.
Auto Focus vs Manual Focus:
Auto focus is when the camera will focus the lens on something for you and you would use auto focus when you are taking a picture of something that is simple and stationary. Manual focus is when you focus the lens by hand. You would want to use manual focus when your picture you want to take is complex and moving.
ISO (international standardization organization):
It is an indication of how sensitive a film was to light. With a lower number on the film the lower the the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the shots taken.
http://digital-photography-school.com/iso-settings
File Format:
.tiff – Is the highest quality for file format. This format works well for printing because of no loss of quality of the file.
.jpeg – Is the most common type and is viewed by all. It works for the web.
.raw – It contains minimally processed data and is good to be used for files that have yet to be processed.